Hello everybody. I’m not going to start this article with a pathetic attempt at comedy as to me, this is a serious and frustrating subject. My views on the whole idea of censorship and people seeing controversy in such insignificant things.THe many things that bother me, and what we’ll be talking about today, is that whole thing with sexual encounters with Mass Effect, the big thing of homosexuality with SWTOR, the mass-murder of innocent and more in modern shooters and all round hate of video-games. The problem with these things are, the negative side of them are usually supported by the majority of politicians, parents and the easily offended populace. The way I think is, things can annoy me, as in really annoy me, I feel rage at any small thing that will spark in my mind. But the difference is between me and them is, I don’t think of these occasions as “Hey! That is annoying me way too much and I don’t like it! It must go!” I may appear that way in my posts but I really don’t think that way, it’s for dramatic effect and exaggeration, the way I see it, if somebody likes it, have at it buddy.The thing is, it really annoys me is, people attempt to enforce their views upon everybody else just because they deem something “offensive” or that they just don’t like it. If Funnyjunk and 4chan like to insult diseased people, let them have their fun, hell, sometimes it’s really funny, sometimes. The thing is, when something annoys me, I take a second to think and realize it doesn’t give me a disadvantage so I leave it be. Sure things can majorly rustles my jimmies, but why is it worth getting out of my way to try to stop it from being enjoyed? No, of course not.

The first point, the problem with representing homosexuality. In video-games, and comic books, there has always been a big problem with any sort of questioning with sexuality. It appears in the eyes of the parents, specifically soccer moms, think that if their kids sees a homosexual character, or an interaction between two homosexual characters, they think”well look at that, might as well,” and it’s ridiculous. If anything, if kids see characters they think are cool or like, the most they will do is think “well would you look at that! Gays exist, I’m cool with that, some of them are superheroes!” There is no harm in showing young children homosexual people or characters, it will make them see that there is nothing wrong with them, nothing that makes them evil and show them they’re just like everybody else. The real question is, why do you not want your kids to be homosexual? I mean it won’t make them gay, it isn’t for everybody, but you know, what makes your child any lesser your child just by being homosexual? This comes from the attack on SWTOR after the announcement of gay characters and a gay scene within the game. The soccer moms claimed that they don’t want their kids to see these kinds of “inappropriate” actions within games, also include the claim that “it’s a kid’s game as it is Star Wars and kid’s games shouldn’t have anything like this in it.” Oh really? That’s funny because I’ve never remembered anybody saying that SWTOR is a kid’s game other than you. Its rating is sixteen-plus.

The other is the same argument against the sex scenes in the Mass Effect series. I wouldn’t even call them sex scenes, they’re just scenes implying an intimate incident between two characters. The parents imply that these would disturb the children or make them prematurely sexually active, which is bullshit, kids are again, not meant to play this game as well. They weren’t made for children, the complex moral choices alone are incredibly complicated and children might just take a random pick. Again, not designed for children.

And the third point, the shooters. The parents, politicians and utter ignorant twats of this world have always said that violence within video-games will cause children to be violent. I call bullshit, the thing is. Why would these parents buy these games for them in the first place if they already knew there are guns, blood or violence? The way they try to blame the studios on these games that they shouldn’t be making games with so much adult content within these games, but that’s the thing, it is adult content, for adults. Now why these people can’t understand this simple pointers. The games were created for teens and, yup, you guessed it, adults! The age ratings should be enough to deter them from purchasing these games for their own children, but no, they’re too stupid to notice. I find it your fault that you think your kids are getting bad messages from games, they’re not, they’re getting the bad messages from you. You allow them to play violent games, it is you that’s the problem. Stop blaming others for the faults of your own. The developers have done nothing wrong, you just keep buying your kids the wrong things. The responsibility has always fallen upon the parents.

Clover here. I just downloaded the new 2GB multiplayer update on Battlefield 3 and I have been playing it for about a week or so now. Well, I have some things to take back from my review. The weapons have now been balanced out properly, the fact that you can now make your own server is just brilliant and all these new features have really brightened up the game. I’ve managed to go up at the least 8 level in the past few days since I’ve downloaded it and currently I think I’m at level 36 and have never had so much fun on this game since… ever. I can actually use the support class the way I intended,, same with assault. I might say all this but it isn’t a Bad Company 2, of course the update has fixed everything that was previously wrong and I really enjoy it now but it won’t be that piece of gold that came out in March of 2010.

The thing about Battlefield 3 was, it was never finished when it was released, DICE was probably forced to release it in October because of EA pushing them to an earlier release because of the competition they had with Activision and the infamous Call Of Duty series. The months that came afterwards gave DICE the chance to finish what they had started with Battlefield 3 and here comes the game’s saviour, the multiplayer update.

Soon I’ll be getting premium so you’ll have my word on that too, the thing I’m not looking forward to unfortunately is that damnable SPAS-12, DICE has made a god awful mistake in making her an insta-kill weapon., I don’t care what weapon it is, you never make it insta-kill, be it a shotgun or sniper rifle, headshots are the exception. One problem I do have is the weakness of the frag shell of the 870 MCS, I’ve tried to use it for a while but to no avail, no kills, ever, so I just return to the flanchette shell was it? I can’t remember, but that thing makes me unstoppable!

The next thing I’ll be writing will be a review of the first Assassin’s Creed. Just to give you more details, we will not be reviewing the handheld Creed games.

Since I’ve posted this, I’ve gone up to level 40.

Clover out.

]]>https://lartenclover.wordpress.com/2012/07/04/battlefield-3-multiplayer-gameplay-trailer-base-jumps-into-action/feed/0lartencloverbattlefield-3-multiplayer-gameplay-trailer-base-jumps-into-action430185_3290919803200_1573895611_32710072_733654234_nHey guys! Sorry for the wait!https://lartenclover.wordpress.com/2012/06/30/hey-guys-sorry-for-the-wait/
https://lartenclover.wordpress.com/2012/06/30/hey-guys-sorry-for-the-wait/#respondSat, 30 Jun 2012 23:20:27 +0000http://lartenclover.wordpress.com/?p=420]]>Hello friends, this is Clover speaking. I know, it has been quite the many months since I; Larten or JOT has posted anything but to n o avail! School has ended for JOT and me and Larten has finished his exams. We now have time for you all! Coming up will be either a single or series of reviews of the 4 main Assassin’s Creed installments. I’ll ask the other two whether or not they want to write a review as well as I for the other Creed games, maybe Revelations will be a joint where all of us give off opinions in one article, prepare for confusion. Look forward to those!

More updates!

In the next week or two, I will be buying a capture card for us to kick off out Youtube channel. We plan to make our first video, excluding the debuting of our intro, Larten and I playing Portal 2.

Once we have recorded a little more footage we’ll bring out a “trailer” showing possibly what the channel might bring you and well, I hope you guys find the channel pretty cool, if not, we apologize for failing you masters, because without an audience, internet fame would be nothing. I feel we’d be cheeky in asking you to share it with your friends but if you do, we might be nice to you, maybe even give you a little piece of chocolate, or a pat on the head.

Expect a new series of play-throughs form Larten and me on Skyrim! He’ll be playing full Dovahkin mode (armor and weapons from the trailer only) while I’ll just do my own stuff. Dawnguard just came out too so that DLC will be in our videos too.

Clover’s Battlefield 3. I’ll be playing Battlefield 3 and obviously recording whatever I get up to, I’ll be playing either with my usual Battlefield 3 partners or random players, I might have them join me in seriousness or shenanigans or just l one wolf it and muck about by myself, if you want to join a game, just let me know, if we can, I might host LartenClover servers in the future now that we can host our own. Games will vary from Close quarters to standard and Karkand maps.

That’s the end of this short update, keep gaming my friends! We’ll be looking forward to playing with you.

Clover here. As much as I say that I despise this game I’m still going to buy these new DLC. The first one of course is a new map pack that has new weapons and 4 new maps. The maps are all based inside buildings and was made for CQC (close quarters combat) and frankly, I love CQC in shooter games, long-range shooting can piss me off because the more I miss, the more they know I’m there. Another one includes huge open maps filled with vehicles, that one I’m not so looking forward to but I’m still going to buy it. Luckily I got a pre-ordered limited edition copy so I didn’t have to pay for Karkhand DLC. I have a compulsion to play this game even though it frustrates me so much, I like playing it for some reason.

Clover here, it’s really unsuitable for me to talk about this but what the hell I’ll do it anyway, maybe we can have Jot’s word in later seeing as I don’t play the game. But yes, the trailer is out and even though I don’t play it I’m excited for, not as much as Assassin’s Creed 3 though, seeing as I actually play that series. I’ll have to buy the first 2 games before I buy the third instalment so for the time being, I can’t tell you anything. Here’s the trailer, don’t bite me for this. What I have noticed is that it’s something to do with London and sunflowers. It’s a bit late for this because it’s already out.

Clover here, I just discovered the debut trailer for a new medal of honor, I looked at it and didn’t notice much of what was new in this game. I know that it’s the Frostbite 2 engine and it looks similar to Battlefield 3 visually, but that’s stupid because it is the same engine. It looks like they’re moving away from the middle eastern environments and into more jungle areas. Tier 1 has passed so I don’t know what military group you’ll be serving as this time. Obviously from what I have seen, the visuals have improved since the 2010 predecessor. I hope they don’t ruin this like every other series that appears to die every so often nowadays because I really enjoyed the las tone because it was different to other shooters, it took you into the real combat areas of the middle east instead of what others do, not going to say it, I’ve said a thousand times, there is now way am I saying that name again! OK fine I’ll mention it in some way, shout of task, happy?

Clover here, so there are rumours going round the internet about a new Assassin’s Creed that is actually a full sequel and not just some add ons on disk and have full title prices. Lo and behold, Activision released a picture of an assassin that appearts to be in the Ameriucan revolution with the title of Assassin’s Creed III. This is exciting as they are changing the tiem period to something completely different, in other words the American revolution. So let’s take a look at the picture. If it’s based in the same tiem period as I’m thinking, he’s in the American revolution. At that time the British wore red and from observations the assassin might be native American, the strange thing is the natives and british worked together against the settlers, still though the soldier might be French too.

Here’s the reveal video.

For all I know I could be wrong, I’ll just wait until it has mroe details announced.

So, just played Uncharted 3 for around an hour. Haven’t played the first two iterations in the series, so most of the information is from the mouth of another. Nothing like second-hand opinions. That said, I’ve played enough of it to actually think it’s pretty bad-crap insane.

The story is well-thought out, based primarily on rumors of ancient treasure-stories and explorers, Francis Drake and Lawrence of Arabia being the core of it. It also differs from previous Uncharted games that concentrate on the relationship between Nathan Drake (protagonist) and Elena (“really annoying reporter-girl that he, you-know, has sex with, but still has an amazing computerized ass to make up for the annoyingness”), this game concentrates on the relation between Drake and his mentor, Sully. The characters have amazing depth, the protagonist seeming like an uncanny off-spring between Indiana Jones and Horatio Caine. The enemies succeed in making you want to kick their teeth in or alternatively smash their faces through with a saucepan, while keeping to their secretive nature.

The gameplay is fun, and the graphics essentially strip the title of “game,” and replaces it with “movie where you can control the main character to shoot shit up.” The jumping and climbing have a few bugs that need to be sorted out by Naughty Dog, not being as smooth as Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed free-running… But the shooting eases the frustration of running head-first into a wall in the middle of a chase.

–L.A. out.

Thanks to “Jack of Trades” for supplying some of the info.

Most of it.

Almost all of it.

Anything after the first paragraph.

Yes.

]]>https://lartenclover.wordpress.com/2012/03/05/l-a-uncharted-3/feed/0lartencloverUncharted-3-2120uncharted-3-psn-awkward-reunion[Jack Of Trades] I keep a can of bat-shark-repellent handy…https://lartenclover.wordpress.com/2012/03/05/jack-of-trades-i-keep-a-can-of-bat-shark-repellent-handy/
https://lartenclover.wordpress.com/2012/03/05/jack-of-trades-i-keep-a-can-of-bat-shark-repellent-handy/#respondMon, 05 Mar 2012 13:13:33 +0000http://lartenclover.wordpress.com/?p=367]]>Review of Batman:Arkham Asylum

Good Morning/Day/Evening everyone! And welcome to the asylum!

Here is my first review of a game and as it happens, it’s the game that features first brought one of most iconic superheroes of all time to te world of modern gaming, Batman! The game itself utilizes all of Batman’s iconic moments and moves, and for the nostalgic nerd, it is nothing more than a wet dream!

The plot of the story is brilliant, in simplicity and canon with the Batman universe. The game opens with Batman bringing the Joker into the Asylum after an attack on city hall. He is uneasy of the ease of his capture and thus follows the Joker into the Asylum. Later, his suspicion is confirmed as the Joker escapes and takes over the asylum, leaving Batman trapped and alone, but never helpless… Batman must fight his way through the crazies, utilizing everything in his arsenal and saving everyone in need.

The gameplay is fun, fast and different from other games. In a fight Batman can utilize all the combat moves and gadgets under(or on, as the case may be) his belt. Otherwise, Batman can sneak around picking off enemies one by one stealthily after surveying an area with his “detective vision/mode.” Here is where the player must face a new challenge, fighting the urge to whisper “I’m batman” after sneaking up or hanging behind an enemy, before pouncing on your prey!!! Plus, the player must also solve a fiendish amount of riddles and puzzles from everyone’s favorite puzzlier, the Riddler. This huge group of side missions will keep the player occupied for hours outside of the normal missions and is a great way to build up experience. As for the graphics, when AA came out in 2009 it was at the top of its league, with a high level of quality and filled with industrial grays, green, pinks and reds making it look immense and deep.

Overall then, B:AA is an immense game, and, despite its increasing age, is still one of the best fun a person could get out of a video game.

Yo sup, it’s Clover. Got the stuff? Wait, wrong person, apologies. I’ll go to the matter in hand. Bad Company 2, bloody hell it’s good. The story might not be that good but the gameplay was damn solid and the multiplayer is the golden feature on the whole disk. I love the multiplayer, it is the best multiplayer I have ever played and nothing any of you old veteran Battlefield players say will change my mind. While I do say that the story is OK, the characters were all different in a hilarious way and a huge contrast to the other. You could obviously tell this game wouldn’t or at least couldn’t take itself seriously as of the ridiculous situations the four gunmen of the military apocalypse found themselves in. The story was far-fetched but what do you expect out of a game that clearly knows of itself as a joke but I would much rather play this over the top shooter than a shout of task.

I’ll start off with the visuals, the thing I like the most is the ambience of the environments. When I play the game, there’s dust in the air that the sunlight points out, I don’t know if it’s true but I can see it. The lighting itself is damn good. The light stops when a surface appears and many games don’t do this. The light appears even on your gun as you move by a window and if you move slowly the sunlight will also follow. One word for all this, immersion, it clearly prides itself on the aesthetics to make it believable enough to think the places you on-screen are real, especially with a HDMI cable. The Frostbite engine does a great job with the visuals but also with the audio. One time I swear I filled my trousers when hearing a sniper bullet whizz past my ear, I don’t play much horror games so I can safely say it’s the scariest thing ever if the bullet goes by your face a third of an inch. ALways makes me think twice about joining the military, yet so does the tank when it blows me up after spotting me a mile away.I couldn’t tell what made the hole, the tank shell or my shit flying out of my bum hole.

I really enjoyed the presence of the characters in this game, Hags, Sarge, Preston and Sweetwater, all 4 had great chemistry together throughout the whole story… well maybe not Marlowe, he was a bit of a mute douche through the whole thing while the rest of them we’re yapping away like it’s a family dinner. I’m guessing they were going for the everyman approach to try to suit everybody, if they wanted that they shouldn’t have given him a name and have Sweetwater shouting “Great shot, Marlowe!” But it doesn’t deter me from thinking it’s great. I can quote this game as well as I can quote Scott Pilgrim, especially when you stand around and do nothing. When you stand still for long enough they’ll start talking about scenes from Predator, apple pie, smoothies, the list could be endless. Another great line was the Dallas cowboys one where they asked who goes to war in a cowboy hat? Obviously cowboys. These are great minds.

The multiplayer is my favorite part of the whole game, The spawning system is the best I’ve seen so far in any multiplayer and the number of players you can get are clearly much better than Call Of Duty, there are 24 players to each match but it wold be better if it was something like 32, 2 extra squads would have been interesting. The maps were clearly made for tactical thinking and it should be used and respected as such, not for camping (hint). I always like to think which way I’ll go deal with a tightly positioned camper next. They’re easy to dispose of if you know the maps well and seeing as I have been playing it for a while now I think I know each of them quite well. The classes always benefit the other in a different way, they’re all as important as the other one, except for Recon, Recon is the class that is there yet has no use. The level progression took a little while to do but I have managed to unlock all the inventory items including perks. There hasn’t been a time where I was bored out of my mind in this feature but I never really found any use of the shotguns. I always used the rifles instead seeing as whenever i tried to shoot people with the shotgun, it never actually worked. If you ask what my favorite weapons are they’re; SV-98, M-60, M-416 and AKS-74U.

The vehicles are handy as well as easy enough to shoot down so there is a fair game for everyone. The helicopters are simpler to fly in this than BF:3 I’ll tell you that much for start. I could actually be a transport helicopter, carrying troops from one side of the map to the other so we could fight our battles faster. Some of them stayed on to use te miniguns but fair enough I needed the protection, so usually that meant only transporting 3 or 4 people at a time but it is a whole squad so who cares. It’s also handy to stow away an engineer at the back so they can repair the chopper when you’re getting shot at. You can do the same thing with a hind but not an apache so I always look forward to being in the russian team, This tactic really helps your team in getting the winning points You can also do this with tanks and cars. The ATVs are for moving in quickly and swiftly, I would recommend Recon use them most of the time because of their need to move fast around the map to different positions. The tank would be well suited for the engineers, be it light or heavy armor but the rest were made for all classes. Mainly for transportation is my guess.

As with he weapons, the sub-machine guns are clearly overpowered in comparison to assault rifles and that pisses me off, especially when I deliver ten rounds in the chest of an enemy with an M416 and lives while he can shoot my in the leg twice with a UZI and I die. Why are subs overpowered in every game I play, annoys me a lot… luckily they tuned down the range so long-range would be impossible, balancing bitches, it works. But whenever somebody tells me this is a Call Of Duty copycat I shout “IDIOT” in their faces and say “bad idiot gamers! Very bad!” Catchphrases, they stick with you.

THis has definitely become one of my favorite games and if I ever make a top ten list of the past 5 years this will be in there, no questions asked. people keep telling me it’s the worst battlefield in the whole series but a game doesn’t have to be like it’s ancestors to be good, games have to change all the time otherwise it’s the same thing over and over. I’ll talk about Vietnam later.